Select Local Merchants

Brave New Wheel's passionate bike people perform meticulous feats of maintenance, customization, and repair work in a shop lined with new and vintage bikes. During the basic tune-up, the shop's experienced bike whisperers change the oil before the oil changes them and then rotate the tires to ensure even wear. The service then concludes with an all-over polish, leaving the cycle as shiny as a freshly minted nickel dipped in a puddle of stars.

Since its 1963 debut, Lee's Cyclery has aided athletes in their quests for comfortable bikes and high-quality cycling accessories. Before customers pick out a bike, employees conduct fittings that could affect the customer’s bicycle selection and help evaluate a person's ability to warn fellow cyclists of wormholes lurking ahead. Riders then choose from a variety of brand-name cycles from companies such as Trek, which created the two-wheeler that made Lance Armstrong a champion, and Electra, which crafts stylish and comfortable commuter bikes. Patrons can take roadsters for test drives before committing to a purchase, and all bike purchases include a free tune-up and a lifetime's worth of adjustments.
The shop also carries biking accessories and gear, including high-performance racing apparel from Pearl Izumi. Lee’s Cyclery lets customers practice wheelies in Riding 101, a two-part bike-safety class that combines classroom learning with on-the-road practice. Meanwhile, the service department happily performs 26-point inspections and routine tune-ups to keep axles spinning more smoothly than the spindles of Rumpelstiltskin's BMX bike.

SeptaCycles converts a traditionally solitary endeavor into a group activity with seven-seater bikes that glide at up to 10 miles per hour. Designed by artist and inventor Eric Staller, the Conference Bike fans a circle of seats around the central hub where pedalers' kinetic energy and fear of advancing tricycle gangs propels the rear wheels via a motorcycle chain. This people power sends groups gliding through Old Town or toward sunny City Park. Independent free wheels allow riders to exercise feverishly or take a breather without delaying excursions, and a steering system designed by Porsche helps drivers stay on target. Hourly rentals let groups control their own course, or trained drivers can take the helm, cruising toward pit stops at local breweries such as Equinox and New Belgium or CSU’s verdant lagoon.

The bike-brains at Small Planet E Vehicles build cycles with electric motors to send riders zipping through the city at high velocities. The diverse collection of eco-friendly velocipedes ranges from the Strida 5.0 Folding Bike ($770) to the top-of-the-line A2B Metro EBike ($2,699). E-cycles run on rechargeable batteries and can travel at speeds up to 20 miles per hour, ideal for zipping to work or smuggling an extraterrestrial from scientists. Save time, money, and the planet with an e-bike, which can be fully charged at five cents a pop.

For a decade, outdoor DIVAS has stocked women-only fitness items and apparel for just about any exercise class or outdoor activity, taking away the frustration of scouring numerous websites or department stores for individual pieces. Cofounder and President Kim Walker, an avid athlete and mother, found herself constantly frustrated when shopping for women's skiing equipment—either everything she found was made for larger male bodies or only had a few options to choose from. She decided to take matters into her own hands, opening a rare female-focused athletic shop. Since then, her company has launched outdoorDIVAS.com and a second brick-and-mortar store in Denver.
Runners, mountain climbers, skiers, and swimmers alike can find the equipment they need to partake in their favorite sport. Scarpa footwear and Black Diamond twist locks help climbers scurry up mountainsides safely. Patagonia board shorts, meanwhile, are made from all-recycled polyester and spandex, so aquatic athletes can sustain the oceans in which they swim simply by wearing pink spandex shorts—also the reason most environmentalists wear them at seminars.